B&O and MGA Paw Paw Branch, WV track plan HO
- Size: 12′ x 18′
- Scale: HO
- Minimum Radius: 27″
- Minimum Aisle Width: 30″
- Designed by Dan Bourque
The Paw Paw Branch, a 13 mile coal branch, was situated near the West Virginia/Pennsylvania border. It was jointly operated by the B&O and Monongahela railroads and their successors. The branch left the Monongahela river at Rivesville, WV where the B&O’s Paw Paw Branch joined with the end of the Monongahela’s trackage along the river at Catawba Jct. The B&O entered the area via its large yard at Fairmont, WV, just a few miles south of Rivesville. The Monongahela’s trackage extended along the river to the main yard … Read more
Few branches in the Appalachians saw more coal than the Clinchfield’s Fremont Branch. Like every other coal branch, it was lined with loaders of various sizes, but at the end of the branch lay the massive Moss No. 1 prep plant. There are many characteristics that made the Fremont Branch interesting. First, the profile of the branch climbed a ridgeline from the CRR main, punched through Bear Penn Gap Tunnel, and then descended most of the way to the end of the line at Moss. Second, Moss was … 
It’s difficult to get a lot of operation into a small bedroom. The most common solution is to build a switching layout to get enough operation since a small slice of mainline or branchline is often too compressed for much operation. The Interstate Railroad’s Dorchester Branch, however, packs a lot of operation into a short branch with some interesting switching challenges making it a great prototype for a bedroom layout.
Clinchcross, near Marion, NC, was a major interchange point between the Southern and Clinchfield. Besides playing host to several coal trains per day (particularly on the Clinchfield), Marion was a busy switching area for both roads. The Clinchfield stationed a switcher at Marion for years (don’t know about the Southern) to work the four-track interchange yard and industries which included a concrete block plant, a scrap dealer and a piggyback track among others. On the Southern side, the main industries were furniture plants which would see … 
If you like unit trains, big loaders and lots of different railroads, this is a great plan for you! The Waynesburg & Southern was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad (a 1/3 shareholder in the Monongahela) and opened in 1968 to serve three large coal loaders being built around Blacksville, WV. From its inception, it was operated as a branch of the Monongahela. The Monongahela had its own branch to Blacksville, but it was too old, too steep and too full of curves to operate unit trains, so it was … 
The Martins Fork Branch, despite its name, was actually a mainline on the L&N’s Cumberland Valley Division. The line extends from Loyall, KY to Smiley, VA where it goes through the Hagans Switchback to meet up with the old CV main. As a mainline, it handled most of the coal traffic from Loyall bound for the Southern, Clinchfield, and N&W. In addition to being a mainline, it was also home to several loaders and other, smaller coal branches, including the Crummies Creek Branch with its Lick Branch Spur which … 
The Chesapeake & Ohio’s New River District was enormous and encompassed numerous coal marshaling yards and dozens of branches (“subs” in C&O lingo). The C&O’s double-track mainline ran through the heart of the New River District from Deepwater, WV to Hinton, WV. The marshaling yard at Thurmond, WV sat on the mainline in the middle of the district. It served not only as a yard but also as a base for numerous nearby branches including the South Side Branch, the Loup Creek Sub, the White Oak Sub, Keeney’s Creek Sub, …